In trauma and many operative cases it is customary to insert a catheter into the bladder very early on to drain the bladder, detect some forms of internal damage, and monitor urinary output, and potentially provides passage for insertion of other instruments. Temperature measurements can be readily made by way of the catheter duct with electronic sensors now available. Internal pressure, intra-abdominal, may need to be monitored in many cases and here also electronic related sensors provide means to monitor pressure by way of the catheter access. The mucosa lining the genito-urinary and gastrointestinal tracts has vascular features that facilitate blood oxygen level determinations. The usual practice involves the use of a light source and a light sensitive sensor, attached to available body areas, that indicates oxygen level in the blood by it's light response characteristics. Externally applied, these systems sometimes become dislodged. Modern light sources and sensors suggest the use of the catheter structure as convenient access for oximeter functions. The vessels of the mucosa pulse with the heartbeat and provide a convenient pulse rate detector with readily available adaptation of the electronic signal processor activity related to the blood oxygen sensor.
The development of miniature sensors and closely related signal carriers invited and was attended by an increase in the number of data gathering functions considered necessary. The apparatus grew smaller but the number increased. The work area became cluttered. Connections of monitoring devices to external instrumentation became more tedious and invited errors. The loss of monitor information at critical points was, and is, dangerous.
There is a need to combine a number of medical data gathering intrusive devices into the envelope of one of those devices deemed necessary so that the effect of only one intrusion is borne by the patient and patient care area. Further, when time is assumed to be vital, the use of a single catheter, capable of a plurality of functions, is of value in terms of time economy and certainty of correct connections. In addition, the security of device placement and the acquisition of reliable data, being critical, is significantly advanced by the combination of these modalities.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide via the catheter apparatus a combination of data gathering functions in one catheter envelope.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a urethral catheter with a built in temperature measuring capability, a built in pressure measuring capability, a built in blood oxygen measuring capability and a built in pulse rate measuring ability, with a balloon near the insertion end of the catheter for anchoring the assembly within the urinary bladder, thus assuring the correct and stable placement of the various monitoring devices.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of this specification, including the attached claims and appended drawings.